Urban Interventions in Public Space

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Near and far sights/sites converge

Photos: Humayun Memon

Artist: Naiza KhanMaterial: Single channel videoLength: 2:20 minutes

Near and far sights/sites converge was shot through a homemade telescope (doorbeen) at Manora beach in 2014. Through the circular space one could glimpse a warship, figures among the waves in abandonment. This sense of intimacy and freedom in a public space is shrinking, like the sea itself.

Manora is a restful anchor from the turbulence of Karachi; visitors come to experience the expanse of horizon, a sight they often miss within the dense, congested spaces of the inner city.

Bringing together these two disparate yet intrinsically connected retreats—Manora Beach and Frere Hall gardens—inverts both spaces/spheres. It is like reaching through the lens of the doorbeen, pulling the ocean inwards, and projecting the horizon line on to another part of the city.